Chapter 6

Gracelyn POV:

The world felt like a distant, muffled hum. My body was a leaden weight, every joint screaming in protest as I slowly, agonizingly, returned to consciousness. The harsh fluorescent lights above flickered, casting a sickly yellow glow on the chipped ceiling tiles. The air smelled of antiseptic and stale coffee, a familiar scent that clung to hospitals and detention centers.

My head throbbed, a dull, insistent ache that pulsed behind my eyes. My right arm was a dead weight, searing pain blooming from my shoulder down to my wrist. I tried to move, but a sharp, excruciating jolt shot through me, forcing a strangled gasp from my lips. My vision swam, lights dancing before my eyes.

A nurse, her face a blur of white and severe lines, appeared beside my bed. She adjusted something on an IV pole, her movements brisk and impersonal. No gentle touch, no soft words. Just the cold efficiency of a medical professional dealing with another nameless patient.

"You're awake," she stated, her voice flat, devoid of warmth. She didn't look at me, her gaze fixed on the IV bag.

I tried to speak, but my throat was painfully dry, constricted. A small moan escaped me instead. My eyes felt hollow, my mind still grappling with the fragmented memories of the night. The safe. The marriage certificate. The guards. Chace's cold, accusing eyes.

"What... happened?" I managed to croak, the words rasping against my raw throat.

The nurse finally glanced at me, a flicker of something that might have been pity, but quickly hardened into judgment, crossing her face. "You were found trespassing at the Bentley penthouse. Severe blunt force trauma. Your lawyers are already informed of your... situation." She paused, then added, "Attempted theft. Impersonating a spouse. It's going to be a long road, miss."

"Impersonating...?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. The words hit me like a fresh wave of nausea. They still didn't believe me. Even after finding me beaten and nearly dead, they still thought I was a fraud.

My eyes, heavy with unshed tears, scanned the room. No Kristian. No familiar face. Just the cold indifference of the medical staff, their eyes mirroring the public's perception of me.

"Can I make a call?" I begged, the question a desperate plea.

The nurse scoffed, a harsh, dismissive sound that echoed Chace's own contempt. "A call? To whom, exactly? Mr. Bentley? He explicitly denied knowing you. Said you were a 'delusional former employee' with a history of 'unstable behavior.' He had his legal team file a formal disavowal this morning."

My heart plummeted, landing with a sickening thud in my stomach. The air left my lungs. Denied knowing me? A delusional former employee? The words echoed in my head, a cruel, mocking refrain. He wasn't just gaslighting me anymore; he was actively destroying my credibility, my sanity, my very existence.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head, a fresh wave of tears blurring my vision. "No, he wouldn't. He... he loves me. We're married. I have the certificate. He knows."

The nurse rolled her eyes, a gesture of impatience. "Look, dear, you might believe that, but the official records, and Mr. Bentley himself, say otherwise. You're Gracelyn Weeks, currently facing charges. Mr. Bentley is happily engaged to Ms. Celina McNeil. That's the reality." She paused, then, with a hint of morbid curiosity, added, "He's making quite the public statement about his upcoming wedding right now, actually. It's all over the news."

She switched on the small television mounted on the wall. The screen flickered to life, showing a live broadcast from what looked like a lavish press conference. There he was, Chace, on a brightly lit podium, a confident smile on his face, his arm around a radiant Celina McNeil. They looked every inch the perfect, powerful couple. He was talking about their future, his voice smooth and assured, radiating an aura of unwavering happiness. My happiness. Our future.

My breath hitched. The image was a cruel mockery of every promise he had ever made, every sacrifice I had endured. His eyes, once full of a secret tenderness for me, now sparkled with a public adoration for her. It was a knife twist to the heart, a betrayal so profound it left me breathless.

He was truly gone. He had moved on, built a new life, and completely erased me from his narrative.

"Please," I choked out, fresh tears streaming down my face, "please, just let me call him. He has to explain. He has to tell them."

The nurse sighed, her patience clearly wearing thin. "Fine. But I'm telling you, it's a waste of time. He already said no to the police when they called earlier."

She brought a phone to my ear, her expression skeptical. My hand trembled as I clutched the receiver, my heart hammering against my ribs. I dialed his private number, the one I had memorized, the one he had told me to only use in emergencies. This was an emergency. My whole life was an emergency.

The phone rang, once, twice, three times. Each ring was an eternity, a slow, agonizing countdown to either salvation or complete annihilation. I imagined him there, in his opulent office, surrounded by his empire, his new fiancée, his carefully constructed lies. I prayed he would pick up. I prayed he would remember. I prayed he would finally tell the truth.

A click. "Hello?" His voice. Cold. Detached. Utterly unfamiliar.

"Chace?" I whispered, my voice thick with tears, relief flooding through me despite myself. "It's Gracelyn. They... they won't believe me. You have to tell them. Tell them we're married. Tell them about the certificate. Please, Chace."

A long silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken truths and damning betrayals. Then, his voice, icier than I'd ever heard it. "I have nothing to say to you, Gracelyn. Our relationship ended years ago. You need to stop this delusion. It's not healthy."

My world shattered. The phone slipped from my grasp, clattering loudly against the bedside table. I stared blankly at the TV screen, at his smiling face, at Celina' s adoring gaze. He had lied to me, not just about his love, but about everything. There was no secret plan, no protection. Just a ruthless, calculated abandonment.

The nurse, who had been watching with a smirk, picked up the phone and hung it up. "See? I told you. You're delusional." She gave me a look of contempt, then turned to the officer who had just entered the room. "She's claiming to be Chace Bentley's wife. Says he denied her."

The officer, a burly man with a bored expression, simply grunted. "Another one? They always deny it. They're all crazy." He wrote something on his notepad. "Time to transfer her to the detention center. Don't want her running off."

"No!" I cried, a raw, primal scream tearing from my throat. "No, please! I'm not crazy! He's lying! I'm his wife! I swear it!"

But they didn't listen. They never listened. They strapped me to a gurney, my body still protesting with every movement. My pleas were met with blank stares, my tears with cold indifference. As they wheeled me out of the room, past the bustling hallways, I saw my reflection in a darkened window. A broken, battered woman, hair disheveled, eyes swollen, face streaked with tears. A ghost. His ghost.

My last thought before the darkness of the detention center swallowed me was of Kristian. He was the only one who believed me, the only one who cared. He was my last hope.